PAMBAZUKA NEWS 112: THE CHALLENGES BEFORE AFRICA AND THE AFRICANUNION

[pambazuka-news]

PAMBAZUKA NEWS 112
A Weekly Electronic Newsletter For Social Justice In Africa
CONTENTS: 1. Editorial, 2. Conflict, Emergencies, and Crises, 3. Rights  
and Democracy, 4. Corruption, 5. Health, 6. Education and Social  
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1.EDITORIAL

THE CHALLENGES BEFORE AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN UNION
By Rotimi Sankore and Firoze Manji
The challenges facing the African continent are enormous. On every  
front: economic and industrial development; scientific and  
technological know how; electrification; agriculture; education;  
healthcare; housing; telecommunications; transport; peace and  
stability; institutional respect for social, economic, political and  
human rights, and all other indices of modern society the continent is  
yet to fulfil its potential. The reasons for this have been articulated  
extensively – four hundred years of vicious slavery and colonisation  
including the murder of millions of Africans in their prime, decades of  
military coups and dictatorships of all sorts backed by both ‘eastern  
and western bloc’ countries in the cold war battle for strategic  
interests and resources etc. These are terrible events, which would  
have undermined the development of any continent

Nevertheless, present day African governments are still failing in  
their duty to break the shackles imposed on their countries by the  
injustices of the past and guide their countries into the 21st century.

On the 25th of May the African Union celebrated the 40th anniversary of  
Africa Liberation Day and the formation of the Organisation of African  
Unity. The 26th of May was also the second anniversary of the formal  
creation of the African Union. In his anniversary message, the current  
Chair of the Union President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa saluted “the  
distinguished leaders of the continental struggle such as Kwame  
Nkrumah, Gamel Abdel Nasser, Haille Selassie, Mmandi Azikiwe, Sekou  
Toure, Modibo Keita, Kenneth Kaunda, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Augostino  
Neto, Samora Machel, Amilcar Cabral, Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo,  
Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela and many others” and their  
“Pan-Africanist vision of a Union of African States sharing common aims  
of multicultural unity, socio-economic and political co-operation and  
development, the promotion of human rights, the protection of human  
rights and freedoms, the promotion of peace and stability and the  
removal of the remaining yokes of colonialism and apartheid on the  
continent.”

He also acknowledged that “there are new issues on our agenda today  
such as democracy, peace and stability, human security, good economic  
governance as well as sustainable development, human rights, health,  
gender equality, information and computer technology, integrated  
regional development, cultural and heritage preservation and promotion.”

More importantly, he admitted that “The international community is  
eager to see whether we will be able to live up to the conditions that  
we have set ourselves in NEPAD and its African Peer Review Mechanism  
(APRM) in which we have designed measures to assist states where  
capacity gaps exist and to set benchmarks of excellence for a vibrant  
and progressive Africa.” “We, in Africa,” he said “are optimistic that  
a new dawn is breaking and that prosperity, peace and human security  
will be a reality rather than a figment of our imagination.”

But rather disappointingly, the first tasks that African Union has set  
for itself do not take account of President Mbeki’s fine words.  
Instead, the Executive Council meeting of the AU attended by Foreign  
Ministers of all 53 member-states of the African Union met last week to  
“consider issues” relating to the implementation of decisions taken by  
Heads of State and Government during the launch of the African Union”  
regarding: “Common African Defence and Security Policy; the new  
structure of the Commission; progress report on the election of the AU  
Commissioners; scale of assessment for member-states; and the link  
between the AU and the African Diaspora.”

This distinguished gathering of Ministers did not think it necessary to  
respond to the urgent issues such as warnings by the World Food  
Programme of looming food shortages and famine in several African  
countries including Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of  
Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Somalia, Sudan,  
Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, where various estimates of between  
thirty million to forty million people are at risk of starvation.

By no coincidence, the governments of these countries have been  
identified by several international and African press freedom and  
freedom of expression organisations as suppressing press freedom and  
freedom of expression. In almost all cases, the rights to association,  
assembly and political participation have also been curtailed.

There also seems to be no collective awareness of other grim facts and  
statistics hanging like a sword of Damocles over of millions of  
Africans:

* Of the ten countries in the world spending the least on healthcare,  
only one [Tajikistan] is not African. Liberia, Burundi, Somalia, Niger,  
Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Central African Republic and Chad  
top this list.
* Of the ten most undernourished nations in the world only three  
Afghanistan, North Korea and Haiti are not African. The other seven are  
Somalia, Burundi, Eritrea, Dem Republic of Congo, Liberia and Niger.
* The ten countries in the world with the highest death rate, and  
lowest life expectancy are all African: Botswana; Mozambique;’  
Zimbabwe; Swaziland; Angola; Namibia; Malawi; Niger; Zambia; and Rwanda  
make up the first list with Sierra Leone, Burundi, Djibouti, swapping  
places with Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe on the second list.
* Of the ten countries in the world with the youngest populations  
[normally characterised by high death rates and high birth rates] nine  
are African: Uganda; Dem Rep of Congo; Chad; Niger; Sao Tome and  
Principe; Ethiopia; Burkina Faso; Mali and Benin.
* Of the ten most corrupt countries in the world, five Nigeria, Uganda,  
Cameroon, Kenya and Tanzania, are African.
* The ten countries in the world that are worst for education are all  
African: Niger; Burkina Faso; sierra Leone; Guinea; Ethiopia; Angola;  
Mali; Mozambique; Senegal; Burundi and Guinea Bissau.
* Not surprisingly, eight of the ten countries on the planet with the  
highest rates of illiteracy are African: Niger, Burkina Faso; Gambia;  
Ethiopia; Senegal; Mali; Mauritania and Sierra Leone [the other two  
being Afghanistan and Haiti]
* Yet, Africa seems to be heading full steam towards a housing  
catastrophe with ten of the fastest growing countries in the world  
being African: Niger; Somalia; Angola; Uganda: Liberia; Burkina Faso;  
Mali; Ethiopia and Dem Republic of Congo.

It is therefore no surprise, that malaria, HIV/AIDS and maternal  
mortality are estimated to kill one million per year [or 2800 per day  
in Africa], an estimated two million per year, and forty percent of an  
estimated annual world total of 585,000 women year respectively. Add to  
these the numerous ongoing conflicts claiming hundreds of thousands of  
lives every year (estimnated at more than 3 million in DRC alone over  
the last three years) and it will be no exaggeration to say that Africa  
may well descend into a wasteland of conflict, disease and poverty if  
the trend is not revered over the next few decades. But 2020 or 2040  
this is not so far away. It was only ‘yesterday’ that the 1970s and  
1980s targets for ‘everything for all’ by the year 2000 were set  
without any clear arrangement to achieve these targets, and today it is  
2003.

The ongoing SARS epidemic is yet to take a thousand lives globally but  
was placed at the fore of a recent meeting of Asian countries. The  
Canadian authorities were reported on the 29th of May to have decided  
to quarantine 5000 persons at risk from the SARS virus. Yet the AU does  
not think the healthcare crisis facing Africa deserves to be fast  
tracked to the fore of its Agenda. The right to life is after all the  
most important of all. To describe the African healthcare crisis as a  
result of criminal negligence will not be an exaggeration.

To anyone familiar with the political and economic history of Africa,  
the surprise is not that these statistics exist. The surprise is that  
there is no cohesive plan to reverse the trend.

The task to rebuild the continent must therefore begin immediately.  
Improved education, healthcare, dealing urgently with the tragedy of  
HIV/AIDS, agriculture, scientific and technological development,  
housing, conflict resolution, peace and stability, and so forth must be  
accelerated to the fore of the AU’s agenda. Unfortunately, this seems  
unlikely to happen unless African civil society makes every effort to  
ensure it is done.

But before any of these can happen, freedom of expression and freedom  
of association needs to be institutionalised. Nothing can happen  
without these. Only last week we witnessed the absurdity of a Moroccan  
editor being sentenced to four years in jail for publishing a satirical  
weekly which ‘insulted the King of Morocco.’ Such absurdities belong in  
the feudal past of humanity and have no place in the modern world. Yet  
Morocco is not alone. Eritrea one of the first few countries to sign  
the constitutive Act of the African Union has imprisoned 18 editors and  
journalists and banned the entire private media. In July, 53 African  
heads of state will gather in Maputo for a meeting of the African  
Union. At least two thirds of them possess a plethora of anti media and  
anti freedom of expression laws in the armouries employed to stifle  
debate and alternative opinion.

Last week, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Africa Liberation  
Day, CREDO wrote to President Mbeki asking him to “call on fellow  
African leaders to release all incarcerated journalists, repeal all  
anti media and anti free-expression laws and legislation in their  
countries and end the persecution of journalists, civil society and  
peaceful democratic opposition.” The letter also urged him to “act  
speedily and decisively on these issues and to ensure they are firmly  
on the agenda of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the  
African Union planned for Maputo, Mozambique in July 2003.” The letter  
stressed that “an end to the suppression of press freedom, freedom of  
expression and the rights to assembly, association and political  
participation will be a first and crucial step” towards solving the  
problems facing Africa.

In order to ensure that these issues are placed on the agenda of the  
AU, CREDO in collaboration with FAHAMU, is today launching a forty-day  
campaign in PAMBAZUKA NEWS aimed at presenting a petition to the  
African Union assembly of Heads of state in Maputo [see link below].  
The petition calls for among other things, the release of all  
journalists incarcerated in all African countries and an end to the  
suppression of press freedom and freedom of expression. We urge you to  
support the campaign.

Rotimi Sankore is Coordinator of CREDO for Freedom of Expression and  
Associated Rights an NGO focussing on rights issues in Africa. He is  
Contributing Editor of Pambazuka News. Firoze Manji is Director of  
Fahamu.

Organisations and persons wishing to sign this petition should send  
their name, name of organisation and country to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title Africa Union Campaign to media  
freedom and freedom of expression. Please state clearly if you are  
signing in your personal capacity or on behalf of your organisation.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

His Excellency
President Thabo Mbeki
President of Republic of South Africa,
And
Chair of African Union
Dear Mr President

Call for African leaders to release all incarcerated journalists and  
repeal anti media and anti freedom of expression legislation

We are writing to express our concern over the continued incarceration  
of and harassment of journalists in the majority of African journalists  
for no other reason than carrying out their legitimate duties. We are  
also very concerned about the persistent violation of freedom of  
expression in Africa, which denies Africans the opportunity to  
participate in democratic debate towards solving the many problems  
facing the continent.

The multitude of challenges facing Africa includes improving,  
education, healthcare, HIV/AIDs, agriculture, building centres for  
scientific and technological, provision of adequate housing, conflict  
resolution - peace and stability and so forth. These challenges cannot  
be met without the active participation of the citizens of African  
countries.

Active participation of citizens in shaping policy and decision making  
of their countries is however impossible if their own governments  
continue to deny them the rights necessary to ensure such  
participation. These include the rights to freedom of expression,  
assembly, association and political participation, as well as media  
freedom to facilitate a free exchange of information, ideas and opinion.

However these rights continue to be violated by numerous government  
despite the fact that virtually all African countries have signed up to  
or ratified the constitutive Act of the African union, the African  
Charter on Peoples and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human  
Rights and other similar documents.

May 25th 2003 marked 40 years of the celebration of Africa liberation  
day and the formation of the Organisation of African Unity. Similarly  
May 26th 2003 marked the second anniversary of the formal establishment  
of the African Union

It saddens us greatly therefore to note that more media houses have  
been shut down, and more journalists have been imprisoned, killed and  
driven into exile in the last forty years of independence of African  
countries than in the same period during the anti-colonial struggles  
that proceeded independence. With the exception of very few African  
governments, most have retained pre independence anti-media and  
anti-freedom of expression legislation that the colonial governments  
used to legitimise their incarceration of journalists in that era which  
remains one of the most shameful for the human race. Some have even  
managed ‘improve’ on such repressive legislation.

It was with great hope and expectation that all Africans and friends of  
Africa welcomed the launch of the African Union and looked forward to a  
new future based on its constitutive Acts. However two years into this  
bold experiment, no significant progress has been made. Even worse, two  
of the first five countries to sign up i.e. Eritrea and Zimbabwe having  
been turned into living hells for the media by the governments of those  
countries.

We therefore lend our voice to the numerous calls that have been made  
by regional and international organisations to the concerned African  
leaders to without delay release all incarcerated journalists, re-open  
all closed media houses, repeal anti-media legislation and recognise  
the importance of a free press, freedom of expression and other  
associated rights as vital ingredients necessary to build free,  
democratic and prosperous societies.

Only when this is done will the NEPAD initiative and any future similar  
initiatives have any real meaning for the peoples of Africa.

Yours Sincerely

Sign [List of signatories]

CC: Governments of the member countries of the African Union C/o  
African Union secretariat
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2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES

BURUNDI: RIGHTS GROUPS URGE RESPECT FOR CEASEFIRE
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34308&;
Local and international human rights campaigners on Sunday denounced  
violence which they said was "blindly directed at the civilian  
population" in Burundi, and urged the army and rebels to respect a  
ceasefire agreement reached on 2 December 2002.

BURUNDI: WE'LL KILL YOU, REBELS WARN SA SOLDIERS
http://news.iol.co.za/ 
index.php?click_id=136&art_id=vn20030528034634511C750267&set_id=1
The head of the mainly South African peacekeeping force in Burundi says  
there is no reason for them to be seen as the enemy by rebels, who have  
threatened to kill them. This follows remarks by Gelase Daniel  
Ndabirabe, spokesperson for the Forces for the Defence of Democracy  
(FDD), who this week accused the peacekeepers of siding with government  
troops and accompanying them into the interior of the country.

DRC/UGANDA: THE FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST
http://www.gvnews.net/html/DailyNews/alert4498.html
The current crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo vividly  
illustrates how marginal our part of Africa is in terms of world  
politics. Note that in a period of only four years, since 1998, more  
than four million people, mainly Congolese and Rwandese nationals, the  
latter having fled to Congo after the Rwanda Patriotic Forces took over  
power in Kigali in 1994, have been killed. Unfortunately, the attention  
that the West and the broader international community have focused on  
this area, in terms of resources and the commitment to resolve this  
conflict, has been dismal at best, says this commentary.

DRC: BUNIA'S STREETS RUN WITH BLOOD
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=20711
Dead bodies litter Bunia's empty streets. From some the blood still  
drips from machete slashes, spear thrusts and bullet wounds. Others are  
two weeks old and stinking, half-eaten by the packs of dogs flopping  
lazily about the once-prosperous north-eastern capital of the  
Democratic Republic of Congo.

DRC: RWANDAN HUTU REBELS IN THE CONGO: A NEW APPROACH TO DISARMAMENT  
AND REINTEGRATION
http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/showreport.cfm?reportid=979
While a transition government is to be installed in the Congo in June,  
the UN program for voluntary disarmament remains a failure. The recent  
violence in Ituri, where hundreds have died horrifically, illustrates  
MONUC's impotence. A new approach is needed to disarm and reintegrate  
Hutu rebels in eastern Congo. The UN monitoring mission urgently needs  
deployment of a rapid reaction force to restore order in Ituri and  
prevent further massacres of the civilians it is already mandated to  
protect. It also needs military capacity to deter Hutu rebels from  
destabilising Rwanda and to back renewed diplomatic efforts for  
voluntary disarmament. The Security Council should seize the  
opportunity of a new transitional government to give a dynamism to  
disarmament efforts, and the international community must convince  
Rwanda that the solution to ending the violent spiral is its own  
political opening. This is according to a new report from the  
International Crisis Group.

ERITREA/ETHIOPIA: BORDER RULING WITH ERITREA UNFAIR - ETHIOPIA
http://news.iol.co.za/ 
index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1054118341868B231&set_id=1
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the controversial decision  
of the independent Ethio-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC) to place  
Badme town and surrounding localities within Eritrea was "wrong and  
unjust," the government press reported on Wednesday. Addis Ababa's  
objection over Badme going to Eritrea had raised fears of another war  
between Ethiopia and its former northern province, despite repeated  
assurances by Ethiopia that it wants a peaceful resolution.

ETHIOPIA: UN AGENCY WARNS 12.5 MILLION FACE STARVATION AS FUNDING FALLS  
SHORT
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305280573.html
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that 12.5  
million Ethiopians are at risk of starving, as there is still a  
substantial shortfall to the agency's $90 million appeal for emergency  
operations in that country.

LIBERIA: LIBERIA 'TOO UNSAFE FOR AID'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2944544.stm
A peace force must be deployed to Liberia before humanitarian aid can  
be delivered to hundreds of thousands of displaced people, a United  
Nations official has said. Peace talks between the government of  
President Charles Taylor and the Liberians United for Reconciliation  
and Development (Lurd) rebels are due to take place in Ghana next week.

NIGERIA: NAVY SAYS SUSPECTED MILITANTS BLAST PIPELINE
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34324
The main pipeline supplying natural gas to Nigeria's biggest power  
station has been ruptured by explosives planted by suspected ethnic  
Ijaw militants, the navy said on Monday. The pipeline which was blasted  
on Saturday at the village of Ajama, near the oil town of Warri in the  
oil-rich Niger Delta, supplies gas from transnational ChevronTexaco's  
Escravos gas plant to the Egbin thermal power station, near Nigeria's  
biggest city, Lagos.

SOMALIA: KENYAN TROOPS MOVED TO SOMALI BORDER
Two Kenyan Army battalions are stationed on the Kenya-Somali border in  
a fresh attempt to counter terrorism. The soldiers will patrol the  
border, now the focus of the government's fight against terrorism, said  
National Security minister Chris Murungaru.

SUDAN: MONITORING TEAM TO BEGIN WORK
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34355
A team mandated to monitor the cessation of hostilities accord between  
the Sudanese government and rebels aims to have a permanent presence in  
the country by early next month.

SUDAN: THE GOAL OF REACHING PEACE ACCORD BY JUNE LOOKS UNLIKELY
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=18339
In an effort to hasten progress towards ending two decades of civil war  
in Sudan, mediator Lazaro Sumbeiywo is drawing up a final peace  
agreement to present to the two warring parties next week. “I am  
developing a final agreement. I am working on it,” Sumbeiywo told IPS  
this week. This is part of the new holistic style of negotiating which  
begun in the latest round of talks, held in Kenya, which broke off on  
May 21 with several major issues still unresolved.

WESTERN SAHARA: NEW PEACE PLAN FOR SAHARA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2943694.stm
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has presented a new plan to  
the Security Council to resolve the political future of Western Sahara.  
A spokesman for Mr Annan, Fred Eckhard said the plan proposed a  
transitional period of semi-autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan  
rule, ahead of a referendum on independence.
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3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

AFRICA/GLOBAL: WAR ON TERROR HAS TRAMPLED ON HUMAN RIGHTS, SAYS AMNESTY
http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e73502136&e=6392
The "war on terror" has left people around the world feeling more  
scared than at any time since the cold war ended, Amnesty International  
claims. The organisation's annual report also said that the fight  
against terrorism was being used by countries including the US and  
Britain as an excuse to trample on human rights.

AFRICA: AU CELEBRATION MARKED BY SUPPRESSION OF MEDIA FREEDOM, FREEDOM  
OF EXPRESSION, AND PROBLEMS OF FAMINE AND CONFLICT
The organisation CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights  
has written to the interim chairman of the African Union (AU) Amara  
Essy voicing concern over the poor rights record of a significant  
number of AU member countries. Pointing out that 26 May marked the  
second anniversary of the AU, CREDO said the constitutive Act of the AU  
placed certain obligations on the union and member states with regards  
to human rights.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15236

AFRICA: NO RECOURSE FOR TORTURE VICTIMS
http://www.redress.org/AuditProjectReport.html
Torture survivors and their relatives do not have recourse to effective  
remedies for their suffering and very rarely receive reparation of any  
kind, according to an audit conducted by REDRESS, an internationally  
focused non-profit human rights/legal organisation that helps torture  
survivors obtain justice and reparation. The report, 'Audit Study:  
Detailed Analysis of the Law Practice on Reparation and Torture in 30  
Countries', included an examination of Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda,  
South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe. The report found that a lack of legal  
safeguards contributes to the persistence of torture but impunity for  
perpetrators remains the biggest single obstacle to the prevention of  
torture and to fair and adequate reparation.

GUINEA-BISSAU: CASH CRISIS MAY PREVENT ELECTIONS
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=18342
Legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau, which are scheduled for July 6,  
may not take place because of the political and economic crisis in the  
former Portuguese colony. “Unless the president decides otherwise, the  
commission is committed to conducting the legislative elections in  
July,” says Filomeno Lobo de Pina, the Executive Secretary of the  
National Electoral Commission. Guinea-Bissau's economy is in dire  
crisis, with public sector workers on strike.

NIGERIA: NIGERIA MARKS PRESIDENTIAL FIRST
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2945788.stm
The Nigerian President, Olesegun Obasanjo, is to be sworn in Thursday  
for a second four-year term of office - marking the first successful  
transition from one democratic government to another since the  
country's independence in 1960.

NIGERIA: OBASANJO SWEARING IN AHEAD OF VERDICT OF ELECTION TRIBUNAL  
VIOLATES DUE PROCESS, SAYS CREDO
The swearing in of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the governors  
of thirty-six states, and legislators elect, before the election  
appeals tribunal had reached their verdict on allegations of electoral  
fraud was a violation of due process, says CREDO for Freedom of  
Expression and Associated Rights. Holding a NEPAD meeting in Nigeria on  
the eve of the controversial inauguration could also be interpreted as  
a cynical attempt to use the presence of heads of state to endorse the  
ceremony, said the organisation. CREDO Coordinator Rotimi Sankore  
criticised the election timetable and elections tribunal process. “It  
is not about whether General Obasanjo or General Buhari, or any of the  
governorship candidates are the true winners or losers of the  
elections. It is about democratic principles and creating confidence in  
the electoral and judicial system. The right to political participation  
means that complainants and defendants should be confident of securing  
justice. The chances of this are reduced if officials assume office  
before the election tribunals have reached a verdict.”
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15361

RWANDA: MILLIONS OF RWANDANS VOTE ON CONSTITUTION
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2718213,00.html
Millions of Rwandans turned out Monday to vote on a new constitution  
intended to usher in a stable, democratic society nearly a decade after  
genocide devastated the tiny, central African nation. But critics argue  
that the charter, which is expected to pass, will consolidate the  
ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front's hold on power.

SOMALIA: OPPOSITION PARTY REJECTS KAHIN AS SOMALILAND PRESIDENT
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34303
The main opposition party in the self-declared republic of Somaliland  
says it does not recognise the legitimacy of President Dahir Riyale  
Kahin, according to a statement issued by the party on Sunday.

SOMALILAND: SHADOWS OF THE PAST AS HUMAN RIGHTS DETERIORATE
Since the presidential elections on 14 April there has been an  
increased risk of violence and a significant rise in human rights  
violations, leaving Somaliland more vulnerable than it has been for  
many years, says the organisation African Rights in a recent briefing  
paper. The paper brings to light a series of human rights abuses,  
including beatings and illegal detentions, a ban on protests, unfair  
dismissals and a curb on freedom of movement.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15320

SUDAN: THOUSANDS OF SLAVES IN SUDAN
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2942964.stm
More than 11,000 people have been abducted in 20 years of slave-raiding  
in Sudan, a new report says. The East Africa and United Kingdom-based  
Rift Valley Institute released its report on the basis of thousands of  
interviews in the Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal province, which it says is  
worst affected.

TOGO: GNININVI STANDS DOWN AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34325
Togolese presidential candidate Leopold Gnininvi dropped out of Togo's  
presidential election on Monday saying he wanted to unite the divided  
opposition to President Gnassingbe Eyadema behind the rival candidature  
of Emmanuel Bob-Akitani.

ZIMBABWE: CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND THE ZIMBABWE TRANSITION
http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/hr/030506tr.asp?sector=HR
As Zimbabwe moves inexorably into greater and greater crisis, the  
prospect of a negotiated transition moves higher up the agenda of  
possible solutions. What place will the allegations of crimes against  
humanity have on the negotiating table for the political transition in  
Zimbabwe? This is not a trivial problem, writes regional human rights  
defender A.P Reeler in a report 'Crimes against humanity and the  
Zimbabwe transition', but perhaps the most serious issue to be  
discussed in all the negotiations over the transition. "The manner in  
which this is dealt with will have an enormous effect upon the future  
of Zimbabwe, as was the case with South Africa," says the report.

ZIMBABWE: MUGABE'S PARTY SEEKS TO REPLACE HIM
http://www.gvnews.net/html/DailyNews/alert4538.html
The ruling ZANU PF will hold provincial congresses around the country  
in the next six months to ascertain from party supporters who they want  
to succeed President Robert Mugabe as ZANU PF president, The Daily News  
has established.

ZIMBABWE: ONLY DIALOGUE WILL AVERT CATASTROPHE, SAYS TSVANGIRAI
The only viable solution to end the crisis in Zimbabwe was through a  
process of serious and sincere dialogue, said Movement for Democratic  
Change president Morgan Tsvangirai at a recent meeting with G8  
ambassadors. "Therefore, the urgency of international pressure being  
exerted to bring Mugabe to the negotiating table cannot be  
overemphasized. It is the only way to avert a catastrophe. A culture of  
democracy and political tolerance in Zimbabwe can only take root if all  
of us accept the principle of dialogue without preconditions, as a way  
out of political problems," he said.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15286

ZIMBABWE: OPPOSITION CALLS OUT THE PEOPLE
http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6850
The Zimbabwean opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has increased the  
pressure on President Robert Mugabe by calling for a five-day national  
strike and urging the people to take to the streets. "Rise up in your  
millions and take part in nationwide peaceful protest marches for  
democracy and good governance to encourage Zanu PF (the government  
party) to take dialogue seriously," he said in an advertisement  
published in the Daily News Thursday.

ZIMBABWE:THE SITUATION OF COMMERCIAL FARM WORKERS AFTER LAND REFORM
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=6843
Land reform has brought about the most far-reaching redistribution of  
resources in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. After a slow but  
orderly process of redistribution between 1980 and 1999, a fast-track  
programme was implemented between 2000 and 2002. This phase of land  
reform involved the acquisition of 11 million hectares from white  
commercial farmers for redistribution in a process marked by  
considerable coercion and violence. Prior to land reform, an estimated  
320,000 to 350,000 farm workers were employed on commercial farms owned  
by about 4,500 white farmers. Their dependants numbered between 1.8 and  
2 million. How did farm workers fare in the massive redistribution of  
land? What was the broad impact on them? And what are their future  
prospects? This is the subject of a recent report, 'The Situation of  
Commercial Farm Workers after Land Reform in Zimbabwe', prepared for  
the Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe.
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4.CORRUPTION

AFRICA: AFRICAN PANEL TO PRESS NATIONS ON PEACE/CORRUPTION
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2726875,00.html
Nelson Mandela's wife and South Africa's last white central bank head  
were among six people named Wednesday to Africa's first peer-review  
body, charged with pressing the continent's leaders to end war and  
corruption.

ANGOLA: GRAFT, POOR GOVERNANCE THREATEN OIL BOOM
http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2003/05/23/rtr981118.html
Angola's offshore oil riches will soon propel the country into the  
million-barrel-a-day club, but corruption and poor governance threaten  
billions of dollars in future investment, analysts say. Angola is  
sub-Saharan Africa's second largest producer behind Nigeria, producing  
some 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil with a significant increase  
seen over the next five years.

KENYA: NEW CODE OF ETHICS BARS JUDGES FROM FUND-RAISING ACTIVITIES
http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=60147
Judges and magistrates are barred from active participation in  
fund-raising meetings, a new code of ethics says. The code requires  
them to maintain strict discipline and decorum in public life. The  
Judicial Service Code of Conduct and Ethics published in the Kenya  
Gazette also compels members of the judiciary to police one another in  
the fight against corruption.

MALAWI: GOVT EXTENDS ARM TO FAITH LEADERS IN WAR ON CORRUPTION
http://www.wfn.org/2003/05/msg00287.html
Authorities in Malawi have opted to take advantage of the respect  
religious leaders command in society, to partner with faith-based  
organisations in anti-corruption campaigns.

SOUTH AFRICA: MBEKI MUST 'TAKE RESPONSIBILITY' FOR ARMS DEAL
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=20797
Leader of the opposition, Tony Leon, called on President Thabo Mbeki  
last Friday to "take responsibility as the arms deal unravels". In his  
weekly column in the Democratic Alliance's (DA) on-line publication, SA  
Today, he said it was becoming increasingly apparent the public did not  
know the full extent of the scandal and where it would lead.

ZIMBABWE: NGOS CALL FOR SEPARATE AUDIT OF AIDS FUNDS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305160727.html
NGO's have called for an independent audit of the national AIDS fund as  
they fear that the money might not be reaching the intended  
beneficiaries because no audit has been done. The call was made by  
representatives of NGOs in the country who met in Masvingo on Wednesday  
to discuss the national AIDS policy.
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5.HEALTH

AFRICA: THE G8 AND ACCESS TO MEDICINES: NO MORE BROKEN PROMISES
http://www.msf.org/content/page.cfm?articleid=311298AD-34D0-4B39- 
BE9F5759A7E4EDB8
On June 1, the G8 leaders will gather in Evian, France, where access to  
medicines is again at the top of the their agenda. (The G8 countries  
are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK, USA.) That same  
day, according to far too familiar disease statistics, 19,000 people  
will die from AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, African trypanosomiasis, and  
visceral leishmaniasis. These five diseases represent the failure of  
the pharmaceutical industry to deliver medicines for the developing  
world, and the non-response from governments to this market failure.

AFRICA: BUSH PLEDGES HEFTY AIDS FUNDING FOR AFRICA
http://news.iol.co.za/ 
index.php?click_id=84&art_id=vn20030528101740275C439147&set_id=1
United States President George Bush on Tuesday signed into law a  
$15-billion (about R120-billion) plan to help fund the fight against  
Aids in Africa and the Caribbean, and challenged Europe to match  
America's "generous" commitment without delay.

AFRICA: GENERIC DRUGS TALKS DEADLOCKED
http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=17917
Pharmaceutical industry officials on Thursday said that talks over  
access to generic drugs, including antiretrovirals, are "deadlocked,"  
despite optimism from officials at the World Trade Organisation,  
Reuters reports. U.S. negotiators in February refused to sign a deal  
under the Doha declaration to allow developing nations to override  
patent protections to produce generic versions of drugs to combat  
public health epidemics such as AIDS unless wording was included to  
specify which diseases constitute a public health epidemic.

AFRICA: MESSAGE FOR WHO MEMBER COUNTRY DELEGATIONS TO 56TH WORLD HEALTH  
ASSEMBLY
http://www.msf.org/content/page.cfm?articleid=4E0DCA59-1E3E-4550- 
9A94836925349A15
There is an urgent need for new vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments  
to address high mortality and morbidity associated with infectious  
disease. The current system of motivating research and development  
favours the needs of people in developed countries, while neglecting  
many diseases that primarily affect people in developing countries.  
This is according to a message from Medicines Sans Frontiers about  
access to medicines, made to the 56th World Health Assembly (WHA), held  
between May 19-28.

BOTSWANA: A MODEL FOR COMBATING HIV/AIDS
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34373
Botswana is the first country in Africa to implement widespread  
distribution of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs through its public health  
system under a programme aptly named 'Masa' ("new dawn"), a symbol of  
hope for those living with HIV/AIDS.

CAR: LACK OF CLEAN WATER LEADS TO INCREASE IN TYPHOID, DIARRHOEA
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270145.html
Cases of typhoid and diarrhoea among children in the northern town of  
Bambari in the Central African Republic (CAR) have increased due to  
lack of safe drinking water, government-run Radio Centrafrique reported  
on Saturday.

CENTRAL AFRICA: MEDICAL EXPERTS FORM NETWORK TO FIGHT MALARIA
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34331
Medical experts from eight central African countries have formed a  
network to fight malaria following a three-day meeting in Kinshasa, the  
capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), officials from  
the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

KENYA: AFRICA'S AIDS DRUGS TRAPPED IN THE LABORATORY
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,960106,00.html
There is no lock on the door, no phalanx of guards, no visible  
impediment to the drugs leaving the glass chamber that the laboratory  
technicians call a "stability room". The pills come in little white  
boxes with labels such as lamivudine, zidovudine and efavirenz,  
technical names disguising the fact that these tablets are the stuff of  
life. Take them together and if you have HIV you can stave off death  
for years. Millions in Africa have the virus but not the pills. A  
stone's throw from the laboratory Aids is wiping out communities, yet  
these pills cannot leave the stability room.

SUDAN: 30 DEATHS FROM YELLOW FEVER IN THE SOUTH
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34339
Thirty people have died in an outbreak of yellow fever in southern  
Sudan, which has affected at least 80 people, the United Nations  
confirmed on Tuesday.
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6.EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE

AFRICA/GLOBAL: EDUCATION: WHO PAYS?
http://portal.unesco.org/education/ 
ev.php?URL_ID=17271&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201
If education is good for the economy, why have so many countries not  
yet achieved Education for All? Most governments claim that their aim  
is to deliver economic growth, yet many have singularly failed to use  
the tool of education in its support. Is it the absence of the freedom  
and democracy that prevents the people from voicing their demand for  
education? Is it because maintaining educational and economic  
inequality actually suits the ruling elite? Political leaders have  
become adept at articulating the rhetoric about the importance of  
education, but are less inclined to acknowledge that importance at  
budget time. 'Education-Who Pays?' is the subject of the April-June  
2003 edition of the Education Today newsletter.

ANGOLA: PUSHED ASIDE BY GLOBALISATION: WHAT HOPE FOR WAR-TRAUMATISED  
LUANDA?
http://www.id21.org/urban/S7bpj1g1.html
How is globalisation affecting the lives of the 3.4 million inhabitants  
of the Angolan capital, Luanda? Can the state use wealth from oil and  
diamonds to lift the city's poor out of poverty? Can civil society  
release the potential of the poor to become development actors?

BENIN: COTTON FUELLING CHILD LABOUR
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=20789
Eighteen-year-old Gnoulla Yempabou started as a farmhand in cotton  
fields in Benin, when he arrived from neighbouring Burkina Faso a few  
years ago. Now, Yempabou has his eyes on other business: he is slowly  
becoming interested in joining the child-trafficking racket. The work  
is less backbreaking and the profit is good. Statistics on child  
labour, as well as on child trafficking, varies in Benin. Some rights  
groups put the figure to as high as 150 000.

NIGERIA: CREATING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW
http://www.comminit.com/pdskdv42003/sld-7611.html
Fountain Neighbourhood Youths (FONEYO) is a group of young volunteers  
working in various neighbourhoods in Nigeria to help their peers lead  
"good" lives rather than fall into unhealthy, illegal, or dangerous  
behaviour patterns. Young volunteers assist with projects in their own  
neighbourhoods that are focussed on fostering good moral conduct by  
keeping young people busy and engaged - through meetings and social  
events, some of which have charitable aims.

SOUTH AFRICA: ELEVEN MILLION SA CHILDREN LIVE IN POVERTY
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=20942
An estimated 11-million children younger than 18 were living in poverty  
last year, according to a study by the Children's Institute of the  
University of Cape Town. The university said in a statement released on  
Monday, the beginning of Child Protection Week, that poverty, child  
abuse and violence and HIV/Aids were the major challenges facing  
children in South Africa.

SOUTH AFRICA: JOHANNESBURG: NIGHTMARISH FUTURE OR POTENTIAL MODEL OF  
INCLUSIVE URBAN
http://www.id21.org/urban/S8ajb1g1.html
Built on the sweat of black migrant workers, Johannesburg is synonymous  
with social fragmentation, environmental degradation, violent crime and  
rampant consumerism alongside grinding poverty. How is the city  
reinventing itself in post-apartheid South Africa? What can it teach  
other divided cities similarly struggling to promote political,  
economic and social justice?

SOUTH AFRICA: LEARNERS AND EDUCATORS LOCKED OUT
http://www.africapulse.org.za/ 
index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1258
Educators and learners from The Queenstown Private High School were  
locked out of the school building recently because rent on the premises  
had not been paid.

SOUTH AFRICA: THE FUTURE FOR CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=17803
In South Africa, where an estimated five million people are  
HIV-positive and 500,000 children have been orphaned because one or  
both of their parents have died of AIDS-related causes, "child-headed  
household" is an official census category, although no one knows how  
many such households exist. Without "radical changes," the number of  
AIDS orphans is expected to quadruple by 2015. Carol Dyantyi, who runs  
the Soweto-based Ikageng Itireleng AIDS Ministry, and a group of 15  
volunteers care for more than 100 AIDS orphans who live in the  
sprawling township. The group, which operates on a monthly budget of  
less than $1,000, pays the children's electricity and telephone bills,  
provides them with money to attend school, gives them clothes and  
brings food to them when their shelves are bare, reports the Los  
Angelos Times.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: INSTITUTE CALLS FOR AIDS ACTION PLAN
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=21019
One of the greatest threats to the realisation of child rights in South  
Africa and in sub-Saharan Africa is the HIV/Aids pandemic, the  
University of Cape Town's Children's Institute said on Tuesday. "The  
illness and death of adults as a result of HIV/Aids has a profound  
impact on the survival, development and protection of children in South  
Africa," the institute said.
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7.WOMEN AND GENDER

BURKINA FASO: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION DECLINING, SAYS MINISTER
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34316
Twelve years after Burkina Faso launched a campaign that outlawed  
female genital mutilation (FGM) in 1996 and imposed heavy penalties on  
circumcisers, the number of women undergoing the harmful practise is  
declining, officials said.

DRC: RIGHTS FORUM CALLS FOR END TO TRAFFICKING AND EXPLOITATION OF  
INDIGENOUS GIRLS
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34312
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues last Friday called on UN  
agencies to address issues related to the trafficking and sexual  
exploitation of indigenous girls, and urged states to create  
rehabilitation programmes, UN News reported. The appeal was among a  
number of recommendations made by the Forum in the domains of human  
rights, health, culture, education, economic and social development and  
the environment.

GHANA: WORKING WOMEN IN AN URBAN SETTING: TRADERS, VENDORS, AND FOOD  
SECURITY IN ACCRA
http://www.ifpri.org/checknames.cfm/ 
dp66.pdf?name=dp66.pdf&direc=d:\webs\ifpri\divs\fcnd\dp\papers
Low-income working women and female household heads are among the most  
vulnerable groups in greater Accra. They are generally able to meet  
caloric consumption needs, but are very vulnerable to income or price  
shocks, and sacrifice investment in health and education in order to  
meet consumption needs. The best options for reducing women's  
vulnerability is to increase their income earning potential by  
improving access to credit and skills training, and by improving the  
regulatory environment, says this paper from the International Food  
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

KENYA: TERROR AT DOL DOL
http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,12689,962037,00.html
Hundreds of women have gathered in a garden in Dol Dol, a remote town  
in Kenya's windswept highlands. The garden is full of colour, because  
these are Masai women, most of whom wear scarlet and white necklaces  
like beaded ruffs and wrapped skirts in sun-bright colours. One of  
their chiefs, a tall man wearing a faded baseball cap, is addressing  
the crowd. "Do you want to go on with your action against the British  
army?" he asks in their language. A ripple of agreement passes through  
the women. This action is based on the staggering claim that, over the  
last 20 years, British soldiers stationed in Kenya on training  
exercises have been carrying out rapes against local women, and that no  
soldier has ever been investigated or punished for those rapes.

MALAWI: WOMEN CAUTION PRESIDENT AGAINST 'OFFENSIVE' REMARKS
http://www.wfn.org/2003/05/msg00287.html
Leading women rights activists in Malawi have cautioned President  
Bakili Muluzi against using abusive language towards women at political  
rallies, a practice they claim frustrates efforts to uplift their  
social status.

SOUTH AFRICA: CONSUMPTION, HEALTH, GENDER AND POVERTY
http://econ.worldbank.org/files/25577_wps3020.pdf
Standard methods of poverty measurement assume that an individual is  
poor if he or she lives in a family whose income or consumption lies  
below an appropriate poverty line. Such methods can provide only  
limited insight into male and female poverty separately. It is also  
possible to link family expenditure patterns to the gender composition  
of the household, which this paper, produced by the World Bank Poverty  
Reduction and Economic Management Network, illustrates using data from  
India and South Africa.
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8.REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION

AFRICA: FEMALE REFUGEES ABUSED IN CAMPS
http://www.zwire.com/site/ 
news.cfm?newsid=8110946&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=6
Millions of women and children fleeing the world’s conflicts end up in  
refugee camps where sexual abuse is pervasive, sometimes by relief  
workers, according to a United States congressional report. Eighty  
percent of refugees are in Africa, but only 55 percent of U.N.  
personnel responsible for protecting refugees are on the continent.

ANGOLA: PREPARATION FOR REFUGEE RETURNEES UNDERWAY
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34351
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)  
in Zambia will on Wednesday start registering the first of an estimated  
90,000 Angolan refugees for their voluntary repatriation.

BURUNDI: THOUSANDS FLEE FIGHTING
http://www.idpproject.org/weekly_news/weekly_news.htm#2
An estimated 50,000 Burundian civilians have fled new fighting between  
rebels and the army near the capital, local officials said, reports  
AFP. The new exodus, from an area in the Kabezi region, began at the  
weekend when the army began an offensive against mainly Hutu rebels of  
the National Liberation Forces.

CAR/CHAD: REFUGEES HIT BY MALNUTRITION, NGO PLEADS FOR UN INTERVENTION
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34384
International NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Wednesday that  
signs of malnutrition had been observed among an estimated 41,000  
refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) who have fled to Chad  
since November 2002.

ETHIOPIA: FIRE RAZES HOMES IN DISPLACED CAMP
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34329
Families facing eviction from a displacement camp near the Ethiopian  
capital complained bitterly on Tuesday after a mysterious fire tore  
through their ramshackle homes.

IVORY COAST: MORE REFUGEES CONTINUE TO ARRIVE IN SOUTHWEST, UNHCR SAYS
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34376
A significant number of people fleeing war-torn Liberia has continued  
to arrive in the southwest of Cote d'Ivoire through 13 border crossing  
points, bringing the number of those who have crossed to at least  
15,000 in the past week, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.

SIERRA LEONE: UNHCR TESTS ANTI-MALARIA TOOL IN REFUGEE CAMPS
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/ 
+zwwBmeaLyaKwwwwnwwwwwwwhFqnN0bItFqnDni5zFqnN0bIAFqnN0bIDzmxwwwwwww1FqnN 
0bI/opendoc.htm
In a bid to fight malaria among refugees in West Africa, the UN refugee  
agency has started testing new anti-malaria tools in two refugee camps  
in southern Sierra Leone. Under a project co-funded by the European  
Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office, more than 16,000 refugees in  
Largo and Tobanda camps are taking part in a trial of  
insecticide-treated plastic sheeting.
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9.RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA

SOUTH AFRICA: BOEREMAG TRIAL POSTPONED AGAIN
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270018.html
Wrangling over legal aid delayed the Pretoria High Court treason trial  
of 22 alleged Boeremag members on Monday to June 9. Judge Eben Jordaan  
granted a postponement after the Legal Aid Board undertook to  
reconsider applications for assistance from the accused.
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10.ENVIRONMENT

AFRICA/GLOBAL: PROTESTERS ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT EXXON MOBIL
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-28/s_4629.asp
Environmental activists blocked the entrance to Exxon Mobil's  
headquarters and climbed onto the roof to protest what they said was  
the oil company's inaction against global warming. Police said 36  
people were arrested Tuesday and would be charged with criminal  
trespassing. The protesters from the environmental group Greenpeace  
used an extension ladder to reach the roof. More protesters dressed in  
tiger costumes — Exxon has long used a tiger as its advertising symbol  
— were caught at the bottom of the ladder.

AFRICA: FAST GROWING PLANTATIONS HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL  
GROUPS SAY
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/other_news/ 
news.cfm?uNewsID=7224
A new report launched at the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)  
corrects some major popular misconceptions about tree plantations, and  
warns that the rapid expansion of often heavily subsidized industrial  
fast wood plantations cannot be relied upon to stop deforestation or  
generate employment.

EAST AFRICA: 'JUST WILDLIFE?' OR A SOURCE OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT?
http://www.odi.org.uk/nrp/85.pdf
This paper from the Overseas Development Institute examines whether and  
how wildlife is a source of rural growth and development in East  
Africa, and whether its potential could be tapped more fully. It  
focuses particularly on the wildlife tourism industry, pulling together  
issues from a range of work and comparisons from Southern Africa,  
rather than presenting conclusive results based on detailed research  
specific to this topic. The paper reports that although wildlife-based  
tourism is a thriving industry in some well-established tourism  
destinations in East Africa, evidence suggests that the wider potential  
of wildlife enterprise in other rural areas is not being harnessed to  
the full.

EGYPT: EGYPT WITHDRAWS FROM WTO GM COMPLAINT
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/ 
egypt_withdraws_from_wto_g.html
Attempts by the United States Administration to force Europe to accept  
GM food and crops received a serious blow after Egypt announced that it  
would not be part of a WTO challenge to the European Union's de facto  
moratorium on approving new GM licenses. The Egyptian Government says  
that it has taken its decision because it recognises " the need to  
preserve adequate and effective consumer and environmental protection."

SENEGAL: WWF ASKS MINISTERS TO LISTEN TO AFRICAN FISHERMEN
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/other_news/ 
news.cfm?uNewsID=7212
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is asking EU diplomats to give 4 minutes  
of their time to listen to the views of African fishermen before  
deciding on the future of fishing deals between the EU and developing  
countries. The European Commission proposes to turn its ‘cash for  
access’ deals - whereby the EU pays developing countries for EU boats  
to fish in their waters - into “partnership agreements” aimed at  
developing sustainable fisheries. But WWF, and African fishermen, are  
very critical of the EU’s record on fishing in developing countries.

SOUTH AFRICA: ANTI-GM PROTEST AT BIOTECH CONFERENCE
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1354439-6078-0,00.html
Two South African lobby groups this week picketed a biotechnology  
conference in Johannesburg over the controversial issue of genetically  
modified (GM) food. A small group of protesters from the Environmental  
Justice Networking Forum and the South African Freeze Alliance on  
Genetic Engineering held up placards with slogans like "Say Yes to  
Organic Agriculture" and "Warning: GM foods can damage your health".  
Sister Angelica Loub, one of the protesters, said she had  
environmental, social and economic concerns about genetically modified  
foods.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: SADC PROJECTS BETTER HARVEST THIS YEAR
http://www.africapulse.org.za/ 
index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1253
The drought in southern Africa is coming to an end, according to a  
report released by the Southern African Development Community food  
security network. The monthly regional ministerial brief forecasts that  
this year's crops will be six per cent above last year's and three per  
cent higher than the past five-year average.

TANZANIA: FOOD CROP PRODUCTION DOWN BY 10 PERCENT
http://www.africapulse.org.za/ 
index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1260&PHPSESSID=3aed1a21c8e4da2168 
80eb225e3decbd
Tanzania's national food crop production is likely to decline by 10  
percent this year compared to last year, the Famine Early Warning  
System has predicted in its May report. Despite the shortfall, which  
has been put down to "low and erratic rainfall", Famine Early Warning  
System said that the overall food supply situation would remain  
"adequate". Nonetheless, it noted that the price of staple foods began  
to rise in some markets in April, "contrary to the normal trend".

TANZANIA: TANZANIA FEARS TOXIC WATER APOCALYPSE
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3050537.stm
Tanzania's national environment agency has warned that most of the  
country's water supply will become dangerously toxic unless drastic  
anti-pollution measures are taken. Untreated industrial waste is being  
pumped into the country's rivers, creating a potentially devastating  
future crisis, the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) has  
said.
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11.MEDIA

CAMEROON: COMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY PROHIBITS LAUNCH OF PRIVATE RADIO  
STATION
The offices of Freedom FM, a Douala-based private radio station, were  
surrounded by police officers on 23 May 2003 after Communications  
Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo ordered the station's closure, accusing it  
of operating illegally. Prior to the police action, the station had  
been expected to launch on 24 May.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15281

ERITREA: CALL FOR RELEASE OF 18 JAILED JOURNALISTS ON EVE OF  
INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY
Reporters Without Borders has called on the Eritrean authorities, as  
they approach the 10th anniversary of Eritrea's independence on 24 May,  
to put an immediate and unconditional end to the illegal imprisonment  
of 18 journalists, who are being held in an undisclosed location,  
without being brought to trial and without any official reason ever  
being given for their detention.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15260

ETHIOPIA: CPJ DISTURBED BY CONTINUING IMPRISONMENT OF JOURNALISTS
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has stated that it is deeply  
disturbed by the recent jailing of Melese Shine, editor-in-chief of the  
Amharic-language weekly "Ethiop". Another journalist, Tewodros Kassa,  
the former editor-in-chief of "Ethiop", has been imprisoned since May  
2002. Shine was charged with defamation under Ethiopia's Press  
Proclamation No.34/1992 after a letter to the editor published in  
"Ethiop" in November 2001 alleged that Melkamu Gettu, the administrator  
of the state-owned Ras Desta Hospital in the capital, Addis Ababa, had  
embezzled hospital funds.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15261

GABON: NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL SUSPENDS TWO PRIVATE NEWSPAPERS
Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has expressed concern about the recent  
measures taken by the National Communications Council (Conseil national  
de la Communication, CNC) against four private media outlets. During  
the week of 16 May 2003, the CNC decided to suspend the publication of  
two private newspapers, "Misamu" and "Le Temps". In addition, the  
publications "Jeunesse Action" and "l'Espoir" received official  
warnings from the council.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15262

LESOTHO: JOURNALIST DENIED ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Thabo Thakalekoala, sub-editor of "Mopheme", a weekly English-language  
newspaper in Lesotho, has repeatedly been denied information relating  
to the treatment of Katleho Malataliana, a former member of the Lesotho  
Defence Force (LDF). Malataliana was arrested in November 1998, along  
with other LDF members, and later convicted of mutiny against senior  
officers and the government.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15309

SOUTH AFRICA: FXI WARNS OF ANTI-TERRORISM BILL'S IMPACT ON THE MEDIA
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) has warned of the serious  
consequences that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB) will have on  
media freedom in South Africa. In an opinion piece titled "Media must  
wake up over terror bill", carried in one of the country's newspapers,  
the "Sowetan Sunday World", the FXI has argued that one cannot fail to  
notice that in the on-going public debate about the ATB, the manner in  
which the proposed legislation will affect the media in South Africa  
appears to have been conveniently ignored.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15264

SOUTHERN AFRICA: WOMEN UNDER-REPRESENTED IN MEDIA - REPORT
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34323
Women make up an average of only 17 percent of media sources in  
Southern Africa although they make up 52 percent of the population, a  
report by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said. The  
Gender and Media Baseline Study, a joint initiative of MISA and Gender  
Links, a southern African NGO, found that these figures reached 26  
percent in Angola, and a low 11 percent in Malawi, irrespective of  
whether they were in the public or private media.

ZIMBABWE: MELDRUM DEPORTATION CONDEMNED
The summary illegal deportation in defiance of Supreme Court orders of  
the London Guardian correspondent Andrew Meldrum from Zimbabwe on May  
16 raises several serious issues which impact on the treatment of  
journalists, the rule of law and the conduct of the President and his  
officials, states the South African Chapter of the Media Institute of  
Southern Africa.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15263
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12.DEVELOPMENT

AFRICA: 'RICH NATIONS MUST PULL DOWN TRADE BARRIERS'
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1352048-6078-0,00.html
The success of global trade liberalisation talks is at "serious" risk  
unless rich countries dismantle trade barriers and grant market access  
to developing nations, a World Bank official warned. "The leadership  
now has to be with the rich countries," said Nicholas Stern, chief  
economist of the World Bank, adding that rich nations had barriers in  
agriculture, textiles and manufacturing.

AFRICA: AFRICA MAY FIND EU PERK A POISONED CHALICE
http://www.gvnews.net/html/DailyNews/alert4504.html
Preferential trade access the European Union (EU) has accorded dozens  
of African countries may have done more harm than good. This is the  
theme of an essay by the head of the SA Institute of International  
Affairs Greg Mills and by De Beers director Jonathan Oppenheimer,  
published this week in a collection of pieces on Africa by a UK-based  
think tank, the Foreign Policy Centre. Mills and Oppenheimer say that  
if there is to be real progress in Africa, selective preferential trade  
access needs to be replaced by broader access to developed markets.

AFRICA: FRENCH PLAN TO AID AFRICA COULD BE SUNK BY BUSH
http://www.buzzle.co.uk/editorials/5-22-2003-40690.asp
President Bush is preparing to bury a radical French plan which would  
help some of the world's poorest farmers by ending the dumping of  
subsidised western food in Africa. A war of words over the plight of  
the world's poorest continent has erupted after European officials  
accused the US of blocking the ban on export subsidies. In a separate  
attack, Mr Bush blamed European opposition to GM foods for causing  
hunger in Africa.

AFRICA: G8 SUMMIT SHOULD BACK CHIRAC'S PLAN
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,963566,00.html
George Bush's thinly veiled accusation last week that Europe is  
perpetuating starvation in Africa by subsidising agricultural exports  
and by objecting to genetically modified food is both wrong and  
offensive. Africa is being starved of income and its people go hungry  
because the rich world spends little on aid and has done little to help  
the continent help itself by easing trade barriers. There is much talk  
about lifting Africa out of poverty, but not much in the way of action  
from either Brussels or Washington.

AFRICA: THE SHAMING TRAGEDY OF AFRICA
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=20816
All the signs are that next week's summit of G8 leaders in France's  
Evian will be - from Africa's perspective - another waste of space. US  
assistance to Africa is dependent on the degree Africa builds itself  
around the American business model and accepts American law and cheap  
farm exports. Britain is an American satrapy and it will mimic the  
American position. As a result, we can expect stalemate and warm words,  
says this commentary.

GHANA: WORLD BANK SABOTAGES GHANAIAN INITIATIVE ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
http://twnafrica.org/news_detail.asp?twnID=313
As public concern over the current bill on government procurement in  
the Ghanaian parliament gathers momentum, it has emerged that an  
earlier instrument prepared by Ghanaian procurement experts which would  
ensure genuine accountability while promoting domestic enterprises was  
jettisoned by the World Bank. In the place of this, World Bank  
officials almost single-handedly crafted the current bill, which the  
experts say sacrifices accountability for the primary purpose of  
granting foreign companies unparalled access to government procurement  
in Ghana, and to the detriment of domestic businesses.

MALAWI: CONSULTATION BY HELICOPTER: PEOPLE'S PARTICIPATION IN POLICY  
MAKING IN MALAWI
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/indepth/0304malawi/intro.htm
There has been a shortage of consultation time in Malawi's PRSP  
process, the government has dominated the process and been reluctant to  
share information, participation has been selective and structural and  
institutional linkages have been inadequate. This is according to a  
Christian Aid study examining claims from donors that the PRSP policy  
and planning processes have been opened up to extensive participation  
by ordinary people and civil society groups.

NIGERIA: HEADS OF STATE GATHER IN NIGERIA FOR TALKS ON NEPAD
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=565&fArticleId=159792
African leaders gathered here Wednesday to prepare their stall ahead of  
next month's meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) industrial powers, with  
two summits here on development and regional security. More than 20  
heads of state and government were expected in the Nigerian capital for  
a meeting on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

NIGERIA: NGOS ASK OBASANJO TO RECONSIDER STAND ON NEPAD
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305190079.html
A joint body of NGO’s has called on President Olusegun Obasanjo to  
reconsider his stand on the New Partnership For Africa's Development  
(NEPAD). The body described the establishment of NEPAD as an  
endorsement of World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World  
Trade Organisation (WTO) policies.

THE G8: WHAT ABOUT AFRICA?
Leaders of the G8 are meeting in Evian, France from 1-3 June 2003. A  
counter summit - Summit for another World - will take place between  
29-31 May in Annemasse and Geneva. Priority will be given to the  
opinions and suggestions coming from Southern actors, say the  
organisers. The issues to be discussed include: NEPAD - A opportunity  
for sustainable development in Africa?; Trade and development - A  
relationship on trial; Debt - An instrument of domination over Southern  
countries?; and Human Rights Arms transfers and human rights.
Visit http://www.tni.org/trade/docs/g8-june2003.htm for more  
information. Below are a selection of links related to the G8 and  
Africa.
Links:
* Human rights - No trade off!
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/g82003-index-eng
* The G8 and access to medicines
http://www.msf.org/content/page.cfm?articleid=311298AD-34D0-4B39- 
BE9F5759A7E4EDB8
* G8 Summit should back Chirac’s plan  
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,963566,00.html
* Did the G8 drop the debt?
http://www.jubileeresearch.org/analysis/reports/G8final.pdf
* NEPAD – Holding the G8 accountable
http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000288/index.php
* G8 warned over development consequences of crisis in Zimbabwe
http://www.lchr.org/defenders/hrd_zimbabwe/hrd_zim_9.htm
* Peacekeeping: G8 to Meet Heads of Various African Governments
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305280272.html
* Statement against the G8
http://www.g8-evian2003.org/
* G8 Homepage
http://www.g8.fr/evian/english/home.html
* Will G-8 Move to Heal Scar On Global Conscience?
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270534.html
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13.INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY

AFRICAN INTERNET FRAUD BEYOND 419S - ORGANISED SCAMMERS OPERATING FROM  
CYBER-CAFES
Http://www.balancingact-africa.com
419 e-mail scams are only the tip of the iceberg. Africa's cyber-cafes  
are being used by organised criminal gangs to carry out credit card  
fraud. It's hard to estimate the value of these fraudulent purchases  
but wherever we go, we hear reports of it. The evidence in this issue  
comes from one country - Ghana - where as one café operator told us it  
is "pervasive". Read more at Http://www.balancingact-africa.com.

ICTS IN AFRICAN SCHOOLS: A WORKSHOP FOR EDUCATION PRACTITIONERS AND  
POLICY MAKERS
http://www.africapulse.org.za/ 
index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1254
Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, was the site of the first historical  
meeting of 200 education policy-makers, practitioners and development  
agencies. The policy-makers and practitioners were from 28 African  
countries. In total, there were participants from 35 countries  
internationally. Speakers representing these countries and agencies  
focused on various aspects of using ICT in the education system in  
Africa.

PROTECTING PRIVACY WHILE ENFORCING CYBERLAW
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2003/0305231150.asp?O=E
The two most important issues surrounding cyberlaw are its potential to  
affect an individual's right to privacy, and the difficulty in  
enforcing such laws, says lawyer Lisa Thornton, director of Lisa  
Thornton Inc. Delivering the keynote address at the South African  
Non-Governmental Organisation Network forum on cyberlaw and Internet  
rights, Thornton said that privacy is a key issue when looking at  
cyberlaw.

SOUTH AFRICAN IT COMPANIES ENABLE MORE SCHOOLS
http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/education/0,1009,59321,00.html
The Telkom Foundation, together with IT companies, have equipped four  
more schools with PCs, software and Internet access. In one project,  
Microsoft, Anglo Platinum, Comparex Africa and Telkom Foundation  
partnered through the Kopano Joint Venture to equip three Rustenburg  
schools with technology.

THE FUTURE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT
http://www.developmentgateway.org/node/133831/sdm/docview?docid=551153
A number of technological trends, if extrapolated over the next two to  
three decades, provide a vision of a ubiquitous, networked computing  
and communication emerging as the core technological construct of a  
global information society. Even though poor regions may lag behind  
with respect to access to these technologies at present, it will be  
simply a question of time for them to catch up in terms of basic access  
and to begin to benefit more fully from these developments, says this  
paper.
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14.eNEWSLETTERS AND MAILING LISTS

AMANITARE NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD ONLINE
http://www.amanitare.org/
AMANITARE Voices, the thematic bi-annual newsletter of AMANITARE, the  
African Partnership for the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights  
of Women and Girls offers articles and analyses on key issues around  
sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as news regarding  
AMANITARE activities. The theme of the second edition of the newsletter  
is “reaching out to new generations” and is available to download as a  
PDF from the website www.amanitare.org in the newsletter section.  
AMANITARE is an initiative of RAINBO, an African led International NGO  
working to protect and promote sexual and reproductive. The partnership  
currently comprises 43 partners in 16 different African countries. For  
further information on the partnership or the work of RAINBO, contact  
Karen Efford, Communications Officer at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or consult  
the RAINBO website www.rainbo.org

ECONOMIC POLICY PROJECT E-BULLETIN
The Economic Policy project E-Bulletin is intended to provide a news  
round up of activities on economic policy in the East and Southern  
African region. Also covered will be news, campaigns and resource  
materials from African economic policy activists, or in relation to  
African development. The newsletter would also like to cover news from  
the global movements for social justice, and global, regional and  
national policy developments that affect African economies.  
Organisations are encouraged to send in information on their activities  
(national, regional, international) around economic policy to  
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

FREE NEWSLETTER ON SOMALIA
http://www.somali-civilsociety.org
Karti News is released every two weeks and contains the latest news and  
information about Somalia, Somaliland and the Horn of Africa. The  
newsletter has sections on the peace process taking place in Kenya,  
human rights, health and education, women and gender and civil society.  
Karti News forms part of a project whose overall objective is the  
achievement of permanent respect for human rights, justice through rule  
of law, pluralism, good governance and sustainable peace in Somalia and  
Somaliland. To subscribe, send an e-mail to  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] with only the word 'subscribe' in the  
subject or body of the message.

ONLINE DISCUSSION: INFORMATION SOCIETY--FOR WHOM AND FOR WHAT?
http://www.dgroups.org/groups/is/index.cfm?op=dsp_info
Exchange ideas and debate issues about the emerging information society  
and the World Summit on the Information Society.

ONLINE DISCUSSION: YOUTH AND EMPLOYMENT
http://www.dgroups.org/groups/education/
Discuss how youth can overcome the challenges of finding employment.  
The outcome of this discussion forum will be presented at the Youth  
Employment Summit (YES), which is holding its first regional summit in  
Hyderabad, India, in December 2003.
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15.FUNDRAISING

NIGERIA: EU PLANS N6.2 BN PROJECTS FOR NIGER DELTA
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305271201.html
The European Commission (EC) said it has initiated new Micro Project  
Programmes in the six states of the Niger Delta region worth 42 million  
euros (about N6.2 billion).The states covered by the programme are  
Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Imo and Ondo. The project is aimed  
at improving the living standards of the impoverished settlements in  
the Niger Delta region.

NIGERIA: UNICEF, JAPAN SIGN N444M GRANT FOR CHILD HEALTH
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305271092.html
Minister of Health Professor A.B.C Nwosu, Japanese Ambassador to  
Nigeria, Mr. Akira Matsui and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)  
Representative, Dr. Ezio Gianni Murzi, were due this week to sign a  
N444.3 million Japanese grant for the provision of child health and  
Oral Polio vaccine to Nigeria.

PAN AFRICA: UN, GATES FOUNDATION LAUNCH $30 MILLION RESEARCH EFFORT FOR  
DEADLY DISEASES
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270827.html
United Nations agencies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have  
announced a new initiative focused on developing new diagnostic tests  
for the world's most deadly infectious diseases, increasing the  
possibility of early detection and treatment. The Foundation for  
Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) was formed by the UN-backed Special  
Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) and the  
Gates Foundation in response to the critical need for new tools to  
detect infectious diseases.

SOUTH AFRICA: GLOSSARY OF FUNDING AND FUNDRAISING TERMS
http://www.thusanang.org.za/ 
index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=89&op=page&SubMenu=&WSpn=GLOSSARY
Are you sometimes baffled by funding and fundraising jargon? No more!  
Thusanang: the Southern African Funding Facility (a SANGONeT  
Information Services project) has just launched a Glossary of Funding  
and Fundraising Terms, developed by one of the most renowned and  
experienced fundraisers in South Africa, Jill Ritchie.

SOUTH AFRICA: SWEDISH-SA FUND TO SUPPORT SMME'S
http://www.thusanang.org.za/ 
index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=247
According to Business Day, the small, medium and micro enterprise  
(SMME) sector has received a shot in the arm from the Swedish  
International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Department of Trade and  
Industry. They have put in seed funding for the sector to the tune of  
R32 million and R5 million respectively. The initiative is part of the  
Swedish-SA Business Partnership Fund and its strategy to provide access  
to finance for SMMEs.

SOUTH AFRICA: THE EUROPEAN UNION GIVES R40MN TO POVERTY RELIEF
http://www.thusanang.org.za/ 
index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=246
The Daily Dispatch reports that the European Union (EU) has made  
available R40mn for poverty relief projects in the Eastern Cape. The  
Mvula Trust will administer the programme that will target 100 projects  
in 50 communities. Depending on the successful implementation of the  
programme, a second phase is on the cards, which will increase total  
funding to R100 million. The programme will focus on several designated  
district municipalities, and projects will be aligned with local  
government integrated development plans (IDPs).
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16.COURSES, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION: DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE
The course will introduce the international field of human rights  
education (HRE), including presentations of programming approaches,  
teaching and learning resources, and related theory. The course is  
intended for educators and trainers working in both the formal and  
nonformal sectors. Participants will be assisted in the development of  
a curriculum, training, or plan to use these skills to further their  
organisation's advocacy efforts. Participants might be expected to  
apply these skills within formal education settings, for staff  
development within their own organisations, and for outreach and  
advocacy.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15313

KHANYA COLLEGE ANNUAL WINTER SCHOOL
Nepad And The Southern Africa Region - Challenges For Social Movements,  
June 29 To 5 July 2003
The Khanya College Annual Winter School was launched in July 1999. The  
Winter School represents an important step in Khanya College's response  
to the changing political and economic environment within which social  
movements have to work. In many different ways Khanya College  
programmes seek to assist communities in the difficult task of  
developing their responses to globalisation and its various  
manifestations. The Annual Winter School provides the space for  
activists from various social movements to work together across  
different sectors and interests. This is an opportunity for activists  
from the different sectors to exchange views and share experiences.  
Winter School 2003 will focus on Nepad as an overall theme. Over the  
last two years social movements in all parts of the continent have  
expressed grave doubts about Nepad's ability to deliver on its  
promises. Many social movements have pointed out that Nepad is a  
Structural Adjustment Programme in the tradition of the Bretton Woods  
institutions.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15285

NORTH AFRICA REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE ELIMINATION OF THE COMMERCIAL  
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN
Rabat, Morocco, 12-13th Of June 2003
ECPAT International, in cooperation with UNICEF, is organising a  
Regional Consultation on North Africa at the Hotel IBIS, in Rabat,  
Morocco, from 12-13th of June 2003. The agenda for the two day meeting  
covers aspects of commercial sexual exploitation of children in Chad,  
Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. In particular it will look at  
the sexual abuse of domestic workers, early marriages and child  
prostitution. The meeting will also consider how networking can help  
the implementation of the Stockholm Declaration and Agenda for Action,  
as well as the Declaration of the Arab-African Forum against sexual  
exploitation of children, adopted in Rabat on the 24-26 October 2001  
(in preparation for the Yokohama Conference in December 2001).
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15322

THIRD E-SYMPOSIUM ON CONFLICT PREVENTION
22-30 May
You are invited to participate in an online e-Symposium on Conflict  
Prevention, sponsored by the Japan Centre for Conflict Prevention and  
the Japan Times, with the support of the Tokyo Club. The theme of the  
e-Symposium is 'Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?-How Can Peace Be  
Achieved in Palestine, Chechnya and Other Conflict Zones?'. The dates  
during which the e-Symposium will take place are between Thursday 22nd  
May to Friday 30th May. Go to http://www.dwcw.org/3rd_e-symposium/
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15297
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17.ADVOCACY RESOURCES

100 LASHES FOR 14-YEAR-OLD: WRITE AND PROTEST TO THE SUDANESE  
AUTHORITIES
http://www.omct.org/ 
displaydocument.asp?DocType=Appeal&Language=EN&Index=3214
A 14-year-old girl in the Al Wihida Neighbourhood (Unity) of Niyala in  
Darfour has been sentenced to 100 lashes of the whip because she is  
unmarried and nine months pregnant. Click on the web link provided to  
find out more about the case and to write to the Sudanese authorities  
urging them to immediately repeal the sentence.

PROTEST THE MALTREATMENT OF 'CHILD WITCHES'
http://www.omct.org/ 
displaydocument.asp?DocType=Appeal&Language=EN&Index=3216
The World Organisation Against Torture has received information about  
the neglect and maltreatment of so-called "child-witches" in Cameroon.  
Children are alleged to have been forced, with chains on their feet, to  
break and pick up rocks in the mountains. Click on the web link  
provided to find out who you can write to in order to voice your  
concern.

SIGN A STATEMENT ON THE G8
http://www.g8-evian2003.org/
The G-8, in effect, asserts its function as a kind of world government,  
a role for which the world's people never asked of it. The G-8 thus  
illegitimately imposes its will upon the world's order. The G-8  
prescribes neo-liberal policies that accelerate the concentration of  
wealth, attack workers' rights, jeaporadize employment, lower living  
conditions for the vast majority of the population, disrespect cultural  
differences, and harm the environment. Sign a statement against the G8  
by clicking on the web link provided.

ZVAKWANA NEWSLETTER 25 - ORGANISE … OR STARVE
http://www.zvakwana.org
Millions of Zimbabweans are starving. Thousands have been tortured.  
Hundreds of women have been raped. ONE man has led us into despair: the  
dictator, mugabe. But YOU are now being asked to join in mass action  
that will make sure the old man goes.
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18.JOBS

DRC: ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT ADVISOR
The Environmental Program Management Specialist is a key member of the  
core SO team and the expanded teams for the CARPE Strategic Objective.  
Under the general supervision of the CARPE Project Manager, the  
incumbent has a wide-ranging, pivotal role in supervising a highly  
specialized SO Team, providing overall program management and planning  
support, achieving results, monitoring the performance of the CARPE,  
and coordination of implementing partners and donors. S/He is expected  
to exercise considerable independent judgment and initiative in  
executing all duties and responsibilities, and work with minimal direct  
supervision.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15293

KENYA: ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, HEALTH EQUITY, AFRICA REGIONAL PROGRAM
The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is currently seeking an Associate Director  
for its office in Nairobi who will have overall responsibility for  
providing thematic leadership for grant activities in the AIDS area of  
work in the development of programs related to the Health Equity (HE)  
theme and the Africa Regional Program (ARP) in Eastern and Southern  
Africa.

Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15294

KENYA: PROGRAM OFFICER
Equality Now
Equality Now, an international human rights organisation dedicated to  
end violence and discrimination against women and girls globally, is  
looking for a Program Officer with experience in human rights work  
focusing on protecting the fundamental rights of women. Based in the  
Africa Regional Office of Equality Now, located in Nairobi (Kenya), the  
Program Officer will be responsible for program work in French Speaking  
Africa, with a particular focus on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).  
She/he will report to the Africa Regional Director.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15292

NIGERIA: COUNTRY DIRECTOR
International Foundation For Electoral Services
http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=166504
The Country Director is required to have a master's degree in  
International Relations, Public Policy or related field with a minimum  
of five years of international management experience; or a bachelor's  
degree with a minimum of seven years of international management  
experience. Experience in Nigeria preferred – the Director should have  
excellent knowledge of Nigeria and a realistic view of the economic,  
social and political conditions in country, not only their effect on  
the development of reformed election systems, civil society and local  
governance issues, but also on practical daily living in the country.

UGANDA: INTERNATIONAL FUNDRAISER
Orphans Hope Project
http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact_show.htm?doc_id=170821
An international fundraiser is required to raise funds in the region  
between US$50,000 - 250,000 a year for the next five years for the  
Orphan's Hope Project - Uganda. We would like to hear from interested  
individuals, groups or associations, organisations and or foundations  
world-wide.
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19.BOOKS AND ARTS

AFRICAN CINEMA NEEDS GLOBAL AID FOR SUCCESS
http://www.iol.co.za/ 
index.php?click_id=84&art_id=iol1053696086880W253&set_id=1
"If Hollywood makes money, if Bollywood makes money, then why can't we,  
in Africa?" asked the head of Ghana's biggest film firm, Robert Kofi  
Nyantakyi of Gama Film Company. The script the African film moguls are  
trying to write at the Cannes film festival this week could be called  
Desperately Seeking A Voice For Africa. "We have so many stories to  
tell" said Nyantakyi, whose country is a pioneer of West African  
cinema. But with few funds and a wide technology gap to overcome,  
Africa's chances of producing films featuring its own cultures and  
concerns appear doomed to failure unless national industries band  
together to break down borders.

BLACK GAYS AND MUGABES
Latest Issue Of Chimurenga Magazine Now Available!
http://www.chimurenga.co.za/
CHIMURENGA is an advertising-free and self-funded quarterly of  
arts.cultures.politics from Africa for Africa. Contributors to the  
latest edition include Toure, Kgafela oa Magogodi, Yambo Ouologuem,  
Zackie Achmat, Elaine Salo, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Kalamu ya Salaam, Gael  
Reagon, Mukoma wa Ngugi.

COST RECOVERY AND THE CRISIS OF SERVICE DELIVERY IN SOUTH AFRICA
David A. McDonald, John Pape
http://196.4.93.10/compress/books/ 
Cost_Recovery_and_the_Crisis_of_Service_Delivery_in_South_Africa.html
Cost Recovery and the Crisis of Service Delivery in South Africa is a  
groundbreaking publication, providing a theoretical and empirical  
review of the dramatic shift from welfare municipalism to a neoliberal  
vision of balanced budgets and fiscal restraint. Centred largely on  
case studies in a number of South African municipalities, this volume  
critically examines ‘cost recovery’, the heart of this new municipal  
vision. The authors contend that cost recovery has far-reaching  
implications for access to services, affordability and privatisation.  
At a theoretical level, the book explores ways of reversing the  
insidious effects of commodification, the role of the market in shaping  
service delivery, and the way we ‘value’ essential goods such as water.  
These issues are of increasing importance internationally as  
governments around the world move more aggressively toward full cost  
recovery measures.

JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ELECTIONS
Vol. 2, No. 1, April 2003
The papers contained in this issue were first presented at a conference  
on 'Electoral Perspectives and the Process of Democratisation in the  
Democratic Republic of Congo', organised by the Electoral Institute of  
Southern Africa (EISA) in conjunction with La Ligue des Electeurs. The  
object of the Conference was to initiate debate within Congolese civil  
society and political parties relating to elections. The papers have  
been updated to include changes that have taken place in specific  
countries since the Conference was held.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15268

SOUTH AFRICA: IT WAS NOT THE CASE OF CHARITY
http://www.africapulse.org.za/ 
index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1257
After performing for Nelson Mandela, the Queen and the Royalty party;  
concerts in New Zealand, Ireland, Paris and so on, they are coming to  
ekasie Diepkloof. This Soweto violin group is called Buskuid. It was  
and is not the case of charity where the Goddess (Nalden- the group  
instructor) will flap her golden wings from her country to uncover  
talents from Soweto gutters.

VITAL SIGNS 2003: THE TRENDS THAT ARE SHAPING OUR FUTURE
The Worldwatch Institute
http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/vs/2003/
From devastating resource wars fuelled by oil or diamonds to a surge in  
clean, cheap wind power, Vital Signs 2003 documents the trends that are  
shaping our future in concise analyses and clear tables and graphs.  
This twelfth volume of the Worldwatch Institute series finds that the  
twin goals of protecting Earth’s fragile ecosystems and improving the  
prospects of billions of people will not be achieved as long as  
humanity remains divided into the extremes of rich and poor.

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20.LETTERS AND COMMENTS

ABDULLAH RUTA
I thank you very much for sending me your publication: you are really  
doing a good job. I would like to express my opinion on the DRC crisis  
- I have read many books relating to the history and politics of the  
DRC. Since 1960, the DRC has been the victim of aggression from  
so-called “super-powers”, including Belgium, the UK and the USA. All  
have contributed to looting and spoiling the wealth of the DRC, and  
created and enhanced ethnic division so as to rule. Remember that the  
UN contributed to the killing of democratically elected DRC Leaders,  
such as Patrice Lumumba, Maurice M'polo and Joseph Okito.

Besides, we have observed that when it comes to the crises in the DRC,  
the UN seems to minimize the facts just to satisfy the so-called  
“international community”. Today, MONUC is in Congo while millions of  
Congolese are dying. What is the role of MONUC? Let us say: when  
somebody is fighting with his neighbour and starts crying for help,  
basically anyone who is passing and concerned by peace, without even  
asking what is happening, will first separate them and then try to find  
out the reason for the fight.

I would like to ask you to publish this message so any Congolese shall  
know that the UN is just an institution which has been made by  
superpowers to control especially Black Africa, and loot the African  
continent by keeping it in under-development and eternal darkness.

DEAR EDITOR
I really appreciate receiving high quality news from your services and  
the fact that you took the time to apologize for this small problem  
just reinforces my conviction that Pambazuka News is a really credible  
and professional news provider. Good luck with the future of Pambazuka  
News,
Gilles

DEAR EDITOR
It's okay and mishaps happen. Keep up the good work.
Girl Child Network.
DEAR EDITOR
We appreciate your concern and would like to thank you for the good  
supply of news. The delay did not cause us any problem, instead we are  
happy to read news from you.
Thanks for good work,
Dr. Mkhumane
PUDEMO Chief Representative

ERNEST ZUBEM SOKWUE
Lagos, Nigeria
We are yet to start reading your journal, but having looked through  
your profile we want to assume that it will be of tremendous importance  
to achieving our set goals.

TO THE EDITOR
You are doing a wonderful job. Ths is very informative and comprehensive
news.
Be Blessed,
Eli
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